de Victoria
The-Boys-of-St.-Pauls-Choir-School
Christmas-in-Harvard-Square
I was a coloratura soprano. The bass part was such fun that when singing it outside a choral setting, I always sang that part, too, when I could.
Our choral nun was trained in Rome and also composed. Hated pigeons. We won a number of Chicago competitions. She had a room with a cathedral ceiling and punishment for minor infractions involved cleaning her venetian blinds. I tried voice lessons with her for awhile, but she was terrifying. Had me singing while breathing at a candle. We sang bent bonelessly at the waist when we had colds. And she managed to talk our Latin teacher out of her Steinway Grand when the woman died. Good memories.
Thanks for that response. Music makes memories. I assume, being a coloratura, you got your share of solos. It sounds like it was challenging but rewarding.
I learned to sing harmony by chance as an adult; I got dragged into the church choir since I was always around while in youth ministry, and they had only one “tone deaf” male. That church happened to have a real choral conductor, trained by a world-famous one. She had me singing harmony by the end of the second rehearsal, where others in my youth had all failed utterly, and I had given up entirely on singing after my voice changed.
It was much later (at 44) that I studied it seriously, and got into bona fide ensembles. Good (interesting and enjoyable) bass parts are few and far between.
Although I have sung in very elite groups, I am not the very best chorister, but being a basso profundo, most ensembles want me, if only so they can do Russian literature (e.g., Chesnokov, “Duh Tvoy blagiy”). I am not as low as an authentic Oktavist, but I can can sing a B1 or Bb1 cleanly and audibly.
Of all the discrete pieces and major works I have sung, probably my two favorites are this “O magnum mysterium” and “Ave verum corpus” by Mozart.